Baxi warns: Legislative controls and economic pressures frustrating global recycling potential

‘It is almost impossible to recall a more tumultuous time in the political and economic world,’ says BIR president Ranjit Baxi in his end-of-year message to members of the world recycling organisation.

‘Global trading has been battered by new regulations, restrictions and controls. The world seems to be changing course from multilateralism to nationalism as every country warily considers how the impact of those changes will affect their own economy.’

According to Baxi, demand and supply curves have continued to be strongly influenced by unilaterally-imposed regulatory controls on recyclables, especially the implementation by China of revised quality requirements. ‘We at BIR have always advocated the need for free and fair trade of recyclables, which directly leads to the annual saving of more than 700 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, a projected contribution to global GDP of over US$ 400 billion by 2025 and employment for millions of people.’

18 March

Baxi also highlights the first Global Recycling Day, celebrated on 18 March 2018. ‘We have today got the world talking about the importance of recycling, and many more industries and private individuals are acutely aware of the role they play in developing and capturing the value of the planet’s Seventh Resource,’ he argues.

Major threats

As a result, Baxi says, Global Recycling Day has earned recognition from the United Nations to micro-events witnessed by millions. ‘At the same time,’ he adds, ‘economic pressures and legislative controls are undoubtedly putting a brake on what could be achieved not only in the handling of recyclables but also in the investment needed to maximise their potential.’